Focus on Results: An Academic Impact Analysis of the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP)

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The Education Policy Institute (EPI) conducted an analysis of recent academic data collected from 24 KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) schools on behalf of the KIPP Foundation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate these data to determine whether KIPP schools have had a positive impact on the student learning of 5th-grade students as demonstrated by standardized test results in comparison to national norms. Findings from this study show that 5th-grade cohorts at KIPP schools post substantially greater academic gains on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) than what is considered normal, a finding consistent with prior research on KIPP schools (Doran and Drury, 2002). Given that a growth score of zero on the normal curve equivalent (NCE) is considered "normal growth," schools administering the tests first in the fall with a follow-up test in the spring enjoyed a mean gain of 10.1 in reading, 10.9 in language, and 17.4 in mathematics. Schools that first administered the test in the fall and then again the following fall recognized score gains of 7.5 in reading, 9.1 in language, and 11.6 in mathematics. As the data indicate, KIPP 5th-grade cohorts experienced average gains of 9 to 17 points across all tests. Methodology and School-by-School Results are appended. (Contains 8 footnotes, 5 figures and 8 tables.) [This document was published by the Educational Policy Institute (EPI) for the KIPP Foundation.]